CircleFeed
Reducing the carbon footprint of feed protein production for dairy cattle by including circular cultivated seaweed
The CircleFeed project funded by the Nordic Innovation aims to solve two of the major challenges for European cattle production, namely the need to find sustainably produced alternative protein sources to imported protein feeds and to reduce the contribution to global warming through drastic reductions of enteric methane emission.
The CircleFeed project will demonstrate proof-of-concept for an innovative seaweed-based feed mix that will reduce both the total carbon footprint of feed protein production and enteric methane emission from dairy cattle. The goal is to reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the total supply chain related to dairy cattle by >30%.
CircleFeed will obtain this goal by demonstrating land-based Nordic seaweed cultivation of Palmaria palmata, Chondrus crispus, Asparagopsis sp. and/or Bonnemaisonia hamifera.
The project coordinator, Lava Seaweed, will test the scalability of land-based seaweed cultivation that could possibly be upscaled in HS Orka’s Resource Park in Reykjanes, Iceland. There, it will be linked to the utilization of organic waste from other aquaculture operations (cold sea water from salmon farming and warm sea water from abalone cultivation) in the geothermal green energy park as an integrated multitrophic aquaculture (IMTA) setup.
The tank cultivated seaweed species will be mixed with the large kelp species Saccharina latissima and Macrocystis pyrifera, cultivated offshore by Ocean Rainforest, at varying ratios with the goal of including high quality algae-derived protein to boost animal productivity, while simultaneously reducing emissions by substitution of GHG-polluting land-based biomass with potent algae-based natural ingredients known to inhibit enteric methane formation.
Best-bet feed mixtures will be identified in vitro, using a system simulating forestomach fermentation in cattle, and their effects on key performance indicators and methane production in cattle will subsequently be quantified in vivo at Aarhus University compared with conventional feed regimens.
Major cattle feed producer DLG will offer user feedback to further support product development and market strategies. A Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) will be made by KTH and will provide the necessary data to document the total GHG emission reduction potential in the supply chain. A Techno-Economic Assessment (TEA) conducted by Sjókovin will analyse the commercial feasibility of a scaled production to supply the organic dairy cattle market in Europe and North America.
For further information:
Contact Urd Grandorf Bak, urd@oceanrainforest.com
Project Homepage: https://lavaseaweed.is/
Partners
Lava Seaweed - HS Orka’s Resource Park - Ocean Rainforest - Aarhus University - DLG - KTH - Sjókovin
